Manchester City youngster Rico Lewis is technically ‘as good as it gets’ according to the club’s U18s head coach Ben Wilkinson.
Wilkinson has been speaking about Lewis to the club’s official website, with Lewis making his debut for the England senior side on Monday against North Macedonia.
Lewis was handed his first cap by Gareth Southgate, and featured at left-back for the Three Lions.
He was harshly penalised in the first-half and North Macedonia would score from the penalty spot, but England got back on level terms in the second-half thanks to an own goal from Jani Atanasov.
Despite conceding a penalty, Lewis showed great character to put in a solid performance for the rest of the game – and he was named Man of the Match, and also drew high praise from Harry Kane, who thought he was ‘fantastic’. Southgate was also hugely impressed by the 19-year-old.
Lewis playing for England is amazing to see, but something that doesn’t come as too much of a surprise to Wilkinson…
Manchester City starlet Rico Lewis is technically ‘as good as it gets’
As the U18s head coach, Wilkinson has obviously worked a lot with Lewis and knows full well what he is capable of.
Something that has been really impressive about Lewis since he came into the first-team picture at City is his ability on the ball, and how quickly and tidily he does things.
The teenager things so quickly, and is really good at creating space for himself.
Wilkinson believes that Lewis’ technical ability is already as good as some players who are far more experienced than him.
He said: “He always stood out as being a top player.
“The two years I worked with him, he was absolutely fantastic. But the trajectory he has gone on from 18 months ago – his last game would have been the Under-18s final against Southampton – to now making a first-team senior international start for England, the trajectory is probably ahead of anything anyone could have dreamed of.
“His ability is as good as it gets in terms of technically what he can do as a footballer, receiving the ball under pressure, his awareness of space, his awareness of the next pass is as good as you see in a young player and probably senior players.
“But his mentality to get better every single day, to work and how he understands the game is what separates him.”
Lewis will be a top, top player
City fans are rightly very, very expected about Lewis. Since he made his first-team debut for City he has just been getting better and better, with Pep Guardiola recently admitting that Lewis is one of the best players he’s ever trained in his life.
The technical ability for one so young is extraordinary. It also really helps him out on the pitch considering his short stature, something Pep has talked about recently.
It is frightening to think what kind of level the £25,000-a-week star could be at in a couple of years. He’s working day in, day out with incredible technicians, as well as Pep himself, and has already acquired so many skills.
Potentially, he could become one of the best players in the Premier League and all of Europe.
